Fate:Division by Zero
by Turbanator
Summary: When selecting Servants for the Fourth Holy Grail War, a new log of history with numerous heroes came to light, outside of the normal books and legends. With this new knowledge, the Grail demanded they be resurrected to fight in the War. How was it supposed to know that they were fictional characters from computer games?
1. Character Selection

**Fate/Division by Zero**

**Prologue**

**Character Selection**

Deep in the earth of Fuyuki City under the Ryuudou Temple, the rumbling grew as the promised time approached.

The Holy Grail was hungry.

Since the irregular Servant Avenger was summoned, and then killed almost straightaway, he returned to the Grail, fuming all the way.

His will overwrote the Greater Grail's programming and magical core. It changed from reaching the Root, the ultimate goal of all Magi, to releasing itself to spew forth unending agony to all and sundry.

It wanted the world to suffer all of its Evil, with hellfire and torment.

As it awoke from the slumber decades later, it found the seven Masters and made the preparations to send them the Command Seals for their upcoming Servants. Whilst doing so, it scanned the minds of people of the world, as was normal with each War.

Whilst not a truly sentient object to act on its own, not yet at least, it could only go by the legends of those residing in the Throne of Heroes. In order for its information to be accurate, it performed a very mild form of retrieving information via neural pathways, nothing neither invasive nor damaging to any of the population. Given the workings of three families which created it, this was undetectable to all thanks to the combined powers merging together.

Of course, the Grail was already loaded up with the books and scrolls detailing the warriors and powerful people from the past, with an entire encyclopaedia of all famous people memorable enough to be included in the Throne, along with a few from the future. However, the most currently famous of these heroes, from the minds of the people, would be more likely to be chosen in order to work properly for their legends to be remembered easier. An obscure people who did minor things, forgotten by most, would not be powerful enough to take part. However this system could allow lesser heroes to then take centre stage if their popularity and myths were higher than before, as the masses determined just who was a figure they would most idolise.

Yet, when it read several hundred thousand people, newer legends were appearing, ones which were not around for the last Grail War. Despite its inherent anger remaining from the Third War, it was curious as to phenomenon, since heroes usually were from antiquity, and for other heroes to appear would only indicate that exceptional people had been born and created an entire generation to be enamoured with their own myths. By the time all six billion humans were read, it knew that these individuals were forces equal to the ones in its records.

How was it to know that these people were merely from fiction?

Yes, the knowledge from the books describing Heroes such as King Arthur were numerous, though there was no concrete evidence to prove with certainty that the person in question existed. Similarly with demigods like Hercules, how could a person like that exist, being half human and half God? The Age of Gods was long before the modern era of the magi, and even magi didn't know what happened back then, knowing only of Gaia and Alaya in the Modern Era. Therefore, the three families chose to merely accept the words of man from the olden stories of yore. The Grail did not know if these tales were true or false, nor could it corroborate the stories.

That was not its function.

Its task was to find suitable Heroes, and bring them back to life for the short time of the War, and then be returned to itself to reach the Root, though now its own purpose is to birth itself unto the world.

It accepted all stories and rejected none.

Discovering the new medium of transmitting information via something called 'the Internet', it added these people to the Throne of Heroes, and even used its own mana to find those from the future, who would later no doubt hold importance to the people of Earth.

Regardless of the catalysts bringing back men and women of old, the Grail decided that these new heroes be reborn to fight in the Fourth Grail War.

It then added the new category to check for any updates for new heroes, much to the chagrin of the three families as they never checked the Grail since its construction for this relatively minor error.

The Greater Grail started glowing as it pulled the seven best servants for their Class to be summoned by their new Masters.

There was certainly a lot of material in this 'Video Games' history log…

**Meanwhile**

The crypt of the Church filled with smoke and steam as Kirei held his hand over his face to prevent it from striking his face.

He had to admit, he was surprised when his hand was marked with three Command Seals, a symbol similar to the Greek lambda, enveloping a square logo similar to a mini maze, above a curved line. Despite his misgivings over having nothing special he wanted in life, he accepted the duty by his father Risei and mentor, Tokiomi Tohsaka.

Thus, here he was, in the quiet of his father's Church in Fuyuki, summoning a Servant, though he didn't like the name, considering it similar to a slave.

He was told that the artefact he had would ensure he receive the legendary assassin known as Hassan-i-Sabbah, which would suit the needs of their plan.

Yet, the person who stood there didn't quite match the description he was given.

The hooded figure stood there, his white gown unusual for someone if they planned to kill someone at night, and he was bowed slightly as if in prayer. His hands hidden beneath the sleeves as they were touching each other, the metal arm guards glinting from the summoning circle. The large brown belt covering a red cloth also was holding a sword in its sheath was also strange for someone skilled in subtle kills.

He looked up and stared at Kirei.

"I would like to confirm, are you my Master?"

Kirei frowned, still not happy with the idea of being such a person to be called a Master, but he had to answer the Servant.

"Yes, I am."

"Our contract is complete then. Servant Assassin, at your service." He politely bowed.

"I have a question, I was expecting another person to take your place for Assassin."

"Oh?" He looked at Kirei again, never removing his hood, but his angry eyes were visible, "Do you think me unsatisfactory as a Servant then?"

"Not at all." Kirei folded his arms, "The fact that the Grail has chosen you speaks of your abilities and legend." He bowed deeply, "I apologise if my manner offended you."

"Please, if you do not receive the person you were waiting for, it is understandable." His eyes widened upon noticing the golden cross hanging from his Master's neck, "Are you a member of the Church?"

"That is correct. Is that a problem? Do you hold a grudge against the Catholics?" Kirei asked, wondering if he needed to use a Command Seal already.

"Not at all, my mother was Christian, my father Muslim." He sighed, "In my times, battles were fought between the faiths; it was troubling to say the least." He cocked his head to one side, "I can see that while this war isn't religious, there are still disagreements between our peoples around the world according to the knowledge granted to me now."

"Humans will always find fault with one another, such is our fickle way of life." Kirei shook his head, at least gaining an understanding into this Servant's way of thinking, "My name is Kotomine Kirei, may I ask as to your identity?"

"You may." The Assassin held out his hand from his side, and a hidden blade extended where his ring finger should have been, startling Kirei for a second, "My name is Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, but you may address me as Altaïr."

Kirei smiled, "Very well, Altaïr, would you like me to introduce you to my father, the current administrator of the Grail War?"

Assassin nodded and returned the smile and left the room following Kirei to the main chapel.

**Later that week  
><strong>**Tohsaka Manor**

Tokiomi was troubled as he stared at the person in front of him.

While usually a mild mannered man, he cursed to himself when he saw the image of the man staring back at him with a resigned face.

Kirei not having the legendary Assassin was going to cause problems. However he was lucky to have a Noble Phantasm capable of duplicating himself, which would allow the plan to goes ahead as planned.

Still, as long as he got Gilgamesh, the war would be won.

Given that Gilgamesh was known for having the most luxurious of items nearest to him, the leather jacket on the new Servant served to dispel this notion immediately.

He had dark hair, with a short, if unkempt beard. Said leather jacket covering what appeared to be a normal shirt with a grey tie, and standard dark grey trousers, as if he was just going to work.

Tokiomi also noted the two Beretta pistols the man currently held and clicked his tongue. Bullets would be ineffective against the majority of servants, and this man certainly didn't look like he could project anything other than standard ammunition.

"Even death escapes me, forcing me to live again..." The man sighed, "Seems like you're my Master, is that right?"

"…" Tokiomi had to formalise it, despite his regrets, "Yes..."

"Good to hear..." The man moved off and looked at the walls, holstering his pistols in his holders hidden beneath his jacket, "Say, you got any good Scotch around?"

"I'm sorry?" Tokiomi was unaccustomed to being on the back foot.

"Alcohol, to drink, got any?" The man arched his eyebrow.

"Yes…" He gestured to the room exit, "There's some in my cellar."

Despite his misgivings, whoever he summoned had to have been someone special. The Grail could not have pulled a random gunman for no reason.

The sound of a lighter flicking on pricked his ears at the head of Tohsaka clan glanced behind him to see the man puffing on a cigarette.

Yes, he didn't like this man one bit.

"May I ask what Class of Servant you are?" Tokiomi tried to keep his mind off of such negative thoughts by changing the topic.

"… Archer." The man angled his head one side as he thought to himself, before smirking, "Never used a bow before though… I could learn to use one easily if I had the chance."

"Here we are, some are of a vintage make, pick whichever you'd like." Tokiomi gestured to large though modest wine cellar.

Looking over the rare wines, he moved over to the side find a dusty old bottle, smiling at the label. Blowing off the years of disuse, he pulled out two glasses already with ice inside them from his inner pocket, surprising Tokiomi in that there was no way his jacket was large enough to hold them there.

"Care to join me?" He sat down at the only table there, a circular wooden desk and placed one glass in front of himself, and the other at the empty seat. Somehow an ashtray was there, presumably provided by the Servant.

"It would be my pleasure."

Obsequiously taking a seat, he waited for Archer stub his cigarette out, who then poured Tokiomi a small helping of the Scotch, and then did the same for himself. Raising the glass in a half-hearted gesture, as if he'd done this many times, he spoke.

"The name's Max Payne."

His Master raised his own glass in response, "Tokiomi Tohsaka."

"Here's to our partnership for the Holy Grail. You've got the best shot in the War, in more ways than one." His pained eyes then turned serious, "I won't fail you, Master."

They clinked their glasses together, before Archer downed his in one go, Tokiomi only getting through half of his own by sipping it, before his Servant started to pour another for himself.

Tokiomi smiled; perhaps Archer wouldn't be too bad as his Servant. He seemed to be a good person, deep down knowing he wasn't wanted, but still playing along to be a good Familiar.

As his vision started to go fuzzy, he then realised he may need to research potions for reducing inebriation, not to mention dizziness and increasing tolerance, due to the level of alcohol concentration in his collection.

**Meanwhile  
><strong>**Fuyuki Woods**

Checking over the blood patterns just to be sure, Waver Velvet muttered to himself about the incantation to ensure it was correct. He didn't want to mess it up, especially since the Command Seals were on his hand, marking him as a Master for the War.

There were striking, Two large and boomerang shaped on the outside in a diamond shape. Both were shielding the inner portion, which Waver could not mistake for anything other than a dragon, and the outer portions would be its wings.

As removed the catalyst from his pouch, he tried to forget that he accidentally stole the relic, on purpose, from his professor as petty vengeance. Now here he was, about to fight in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Finally sure of himself, he made the incantation, the red and fresh blood of the chickens glowing with the words spoken out loud, as the winds rushed about his form.

The explosion was a surprise to him, and when the figure appeared in a flash of light, a loud booming voice with a rumble echoed around him.

Waver shook as the voice struck him to the core, he felt it within his bones, and he was positive that other Masters, if not the rest of Fuyuki, heard that voice.

He took a few moments to stare in wonder as his successful summoning. The man was definitely an experienced warrior from myth. His leather boots were lined with fur on one edge, and the legs were covered in animal pelt, with more leather and iron studs of sorts holding it together. His leather armour on the chest had a circular metallic plate and two metal belts tying it together around his back. One arm held a shield, the other a sword, though Waver noted the fighter had a dagger in his belt, as well as a broadsword strapped to his back.

Yet, the most striking thing about the person was his head. The piercing eyes could penetrate steel, and his breath was visible despite it being fairly humid that night, meaning he was steaming somehow since the water vapour should not be that obvious.

Lastly, his helmet instantly drew your attention, covering his upper cheeks, and angling upwards sharply to just before his ears, before extending downwards to protect the back of his head. His hair was just long enough to be peeking out from under the metal.

The two curved horns pointing down and forwards also gave him the image of a bull ready to stampede.

"I am Servant Rider." He spoke, again with the rumble, but it was much lower this time, "Are you my Master?"

"Y-Yes! I am Waver Velvet." He bowed, before realising he was just emulating people in Japan, and extended his hand to Rider.

Rider sheathed his sword and hefted the shield onto his back and strode up to Waver. Instead of accepting his hand, he moved his arm down to grasp the forearm firmly, then didn't move it at all in a familiar, yet different style of handshake. Waver gripped Rider's forearm in return.

"We are one now." He released the arms and raised his head to stare at the night sky, "Why are the skies so dark?" A few moments went by before he was enlightened, "Ah, I see, in this era, artificial lamps make it harder to see the stars."

"You mean, you came from a time before electricity?" Waver asked, only to suddenly feel immensely stupid, since no one in their right mind would wear something like this in the modern era.

"You have many wonders in this time, metallic creatures which soar through the air across the seas, mechanical devices which can propel projectiles instantly to kill, and ways to communicate instantly across the globe." His smile widened, "I look forward to seeing more of this world."

Wave looked away, a frown growing upon his face as he realised how petty his wish for the Grail would be when faced with such a legend who merely wanted to visit other lands.

"Master, what is the problem? Do you not wish to travel, to expand your horizons?" He extended his arms wide, "The world is vast and beyond your belief."

Waver shook his head, "I want to be acknowledged by everyone!"

Rider smiled beneath his helmet, "Then, become great. Build yourself up, use your talents and skills and excel in them. Ignore anyone else who obstructs you. Only you can decide your own destiny."

Waver heard the words of Rider, and then shook his head, "No, it isn't that easy to just change yourself. I can't be like you, a person of such power."

Rider placed his larger hand on Waver's shoulder, "Easy? I never said that!" He grip tightened, "When you are just a weak prisoner of your own mind, you need to break free and learn, and never stop growing." He closed his eyes for a moment and a horse materialised behind him, "Only then will you find out the power inside yourself."

He got on the horse and held an arm down, "Let us retire to your homestead, Master, and plan for this War."

Waver, feeling a tiny bit more courage, reached out, and was pulled up onto the horse as they rode off into the streets.

**Meanwhile  
><strong>**Hyatt Hotel**

The top 24 floors were booked up, and in the penthouse, with all his magical reinforcements and bounded barriers protecting the area, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald had finished incanting the Summoning Ritual, and next to him was his fiancée Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, siphoning her prana into the circle and into Kayneth, forging the link between her and the Servant.

The ground shook as the heavy footsteps landed onto the carpet.

Why was it so heavy, surely Servants in this class should be light and nimble? Kayneth was about to ask this before a roar came out from inside the circle.

Six green lights turned yellow as the creature thumped towards Kayneth.

"Ar-Are you my Servant?!" He couldn't believe this person was his Servant, never could Diarmuid Ua Duibhne sound or look like this.

He was a vast size, fully armoured from head to toe, with rubber as well on the joints, a massive drill where the right hand should be, a left hand which could crush his neck with one twist, and the helmet had bars over and around it, behind which were the six eyes staring back at Kayneth.

Overall, this creature was supposed to be used in a deep sea mission, not the Holy Grail War.

After hearing his words, the servant paused, the yellow lights flashing intermittently to green, then finally settling on green.

A low moan came from him, like a sad dog as he somehow nodded to Kayneth.

"What a ridiculous charade, I have never failed in my wording, what manner of Servant are you?"

The moaning from the familiar turned into a pained and slurred word, "Laaaanceeeer…" It spoke during one breath.

Kayneth brought out his Mystic Code, ready to use it and turned to Sola-Ui, "What manner of beast have you helped summon? Could your prana have affected the flow of magic?"

As he raised his voice, Lancer stepped in between Kayneth and Sola-Ui, spinning its drill, the eyes yellow now.

"My, it seems that Lancer doesn't like you raising your voice at me, husband-to-be." Her smirk was vindictive, "It looks like he knows where the power is coming from, and he is connected with me now…"

Kayneth held up the arm with the Command Seals to Lancer, "Don't tempt me to use this power, whilst I hold this, you will heel." He lowered it without activating any of them and stepped back. Lancer recognised the power behind the Seals and powered down the drill, its eyes returning to their green state. "No matter, we will move as planned, whilst an unexpected development, we will commence the fight once all Servants are summoned."

Making one last moan of agreement, Lancer dissipated in the air.

**That moment  
><strong>**Matou Manor Basement**

Blood seeped out from Kariya's left eye, destroyed by the consumption from the crest worms acting as artificial magic circuits. His working right eye was however disturbed and horrified at what was summoned in front of him.

He heard a gasp from behind him as Zouken Matou realised what manner of being was brought back to life as he made preparations to escape.

The room turned dark just by having the being in front of him as the candles began to snuff out. The summoning circle changed composition into rust and spread across the floor like a plague as a large blade swung down in a long vertical strike.

The splash from the blood and bones to Kariya's side coated the Master in viscous fluids, the numerous dead worms belonging to the body formerly known as Zouken fell to the ground in two pieces as the blade returned to its owner.

The Servant's legs weren't visible, covered as they were by an apron from the waist down, and made up of what seemed to be human skin sewn together. His muscular torso was white and cracked with cuts which didn't bleed; his forearms were coated in a shiny layer of maroon, as if just embedded in someone's body.

The last thing was the impossibly heavy helmet, though it couldn't really be called that given it was much larger than anything else a human could have used.

What kind of person would wear a black and bloodied metallic pyramid on your head?

Kariya didn't believe in God, but seriously considered taking up a religion to find someone, or something to pray to, since he could not bear to look at the creature in front of him for fear of being driven insane.

Given what he had been through in the past year with the training and adapting to the grotesque procedures done by Zouken, all of those hours were just a minor inconvenience and teasing in comparison to this feeling.

The crest worms writhed more as his servant moved closer to him, and he felt the presence speak to his mind.

"Berserker." It spoke in a rasp unlike anything a human could utter.

His bladder long since relieved, Kariya stepped back and up the stairs to the rest of the house, steering well clear of the rooms where the few family members resided, with Berserker following him into the night, slowly fading away to be by Kariya's back.

At least it didn't want to kill him right now, which is the only blessing Kariya could have had for now. The best part was, he knew exactly where to go to unleash this monster.

As the two left, a pile of crest worms came out of the wall and chittering their teeth, spoke as one, "This is a troublesome Servant. He must not get near me again..."

Zouken's soul began his plan to find a new body for the coming battles.

**At the same time  
><strong>**Fuyuki City**

The teenager known as Ryuunosuke Uryuu stumbled over backwards, tripping over the decapitated head of one of his victims, dropping the book from his parent's house. He just assumed that he picked up a random book on the occult, and not an actual book written by mages, namely his lost time dead ancestors.

The circle made out of blood and entrails lit the room up more than the TV playing in the background. His hand burned as a circle with two lines inside it looking like a triangle appeared.

Seconds later, a person stood there, arms folded, with a smirk on his face. The face was odd, and seemed to be held in place by three metallic clasps and was lighter than the skin outside this section. His wind-swept hair flowing backwards had some strands sticking out a bit. The black jacket and trousers were unremarkable, though the sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, and on his left collar was a hexagonal device with a green pulsing light in the middle. Beneath the jacket was a light brown waistcoat with buckles covering a white shirt and yellow vest. A holster on his right leg had another glowing circle, and also held a gun in it.

"Yo kid, what the hell is this?" He waved his arms about the room, "You call me into the Holy Grail War, and this is the reception you give me?" He seemed dissatisfied with the blood on the walls.

"Awesome…" Ryuunosuke stared at the man, "Are you a demon?"

The man held his chin in thought, "No, I'm not actually, I'm a hero, one of the good guys." His face began to twist as memories came back to him, "And I'll prove to the world just how wrong it is to mess with someone who will save everyone."

Ryuunosuke didn't understand exactly what was going on, he only understood the pleasure of pain and suffering of others, and believed this man to be capable of amazing acts of evisceration.

"Hey, since you're here, do you want to kill this one for me, to start your revenge?" He pointed at the terrified child from the family; left alive as insurance if Ryuunosuke needed more blood.

Glancing at the boy, the man sneered, "Quit your crying, no one survives ordeals by whimpering." He held out his hand, "Here, let me relieve you of that burden."

His circular device on his jacket glowed brighter, and a muffled boom could be heard in the background, similar to a fighter jet breaking the sound barrier.

A blue lights appeared and an outline of a robot was built up, surprising two of the people in the room, until it grew and formed a red robot. It had no head, since was essentially within the shoulder region of the machine.

Turning to the smaller child, it spoke.

"First law disabled." The child then started to panic and squirm inside his restraints, "Target death imminent. Fire, Fire, Fire."

From its arms, two flamethrowers blasted out their fuel onto the child, setting him alight. As his skin and clothes burned, he screamed and slowly perished, only seeing Ryuunosuke's grin widen.

When the child had finally expired, the robot stopped firing. "Mission Success." It then deconstructed itself and returned to wherever it came from.

"Excellent." A light then shone from his hands as an upside-down frustum made of ancient stone with purple lines blinking formed, spinning slowly with as it blinked more, "Looks like souls are a much better power source than Eridium..." He felt the heat increase and then dissipated the object, "Let's get out of here kid, the house is going to be a ruin within minutes." The fire indeed began to spread to the TV, which exploded, and then the curtains flamed up as well.

"Who are you, man?"

"I am Caster, your Servant." He kicked the door open and went through first, "What's your name?"

"Ryuunosuke." He thought to himself as they left the house, "Caster's a boring name, don't you have some other normal name?"

Caster stared at his Master, wondering if he was actually playing dumb, and that his summoning was intentional. After seeing the boy's delighted and somewhat puzzled look, he realised that Ryuunosuke was just a simple, but skilled, killer.

"I am known as Handsome Jack, but my friends just call me Jack."

"Ah, okay then Jack-san." Ryuunosuke deferred to his superior in murder, "Please show me many more ways to kill people."

The grin on Caster's face grew, "I sure will, but first, let us hide for now, since I'm sure the police and fire brigade are on their way here. I need to setup my workshop."

As they ran through the streets, the home they had left was now fully burning to the ground as the streets wailed with sirens.

**Earlier  
><strong>**Cornwall**

Emiya Kiritsugu stood next to his wife Irisviel von Einzbern wherein the artefact of Avalon glowed with power, feeding instructions to the Grail to provide the rightful owner of the blessed sheath.

Yet, the person they were expecting did not arrive.

The man they received did not appear to wear any armour befitting that of a king, nor did he appear to even be British in his race. After looking at his face, he seemed to be more in his late teens than a real grown man.

Wearing beige leggings, with knee high leather boots, matched with the leather bracers and gloves. His green outfit was simply made of cloth, though hints of chainmail could be seen beneath it. Held together with a leather belt, there was a strap holding one sword and shield on his back. His blond hair was flowing out from beneath his long green hat.

Lastly, his long pointed ears finally revealed that this person wasn't exactly human.

"Who are you?" Kiritsugu demanded, "You are not King Arthur."

The swordsman remained quiet and frowned. A small white mote of light came from one of his pockets and grew two tiny wings and then spoke with a high pitched voice.

"Hey, listen!" She spoke with an irate tone, "This is Servant Saber. Are you our Master?"

"Yes, that is correct." Kiritsugu indicated his white-haired wife next to him, "You will be protecting Irisviel von Einzbern however. I will be acting from the shadows to defeat the Masters of the War."

Saber grit his teeth but bowed, before turning to Irisviel.

"Saber, I hope we get along well together. I know I'm not a great Mage, but I'm sure I can help in the coming battles"

Saber shook his head and held out his hand, to which she accepted, and he knelt down to touch his forehead to her cold pale skin.

Irisviel blushed and also swore she could see a symbol glow golden on his hand before dissipating.

Kiritsugu just took this into consideration, and then stared at the three equilateral triangles of his Command Seals, wondering about his tactics here on into the War.

**Author's Notes**

So here we have it, new Servants, new possibilities, and a lot of mess to follow. Inspired by The Infamous Man's fanfic Fate:Zero Sense, found on this same site. I decided to change it about with characters from video games and take it from there. I have let him know about this fic, and he was okay with it.

From the Servants, I'll be posting their stats most likely in the next chapter, though when that will be, I don't know as of yet.

Till then, enjoy!

J


	2. Press Start to Begin

**Fate/Division by Zero**

**Chapter 1**

**Press Start to Begin**

**Fuyuki City**

Kiritsugu bit his lower lip as he stood in his hotel room, staring at the modern day weaponry, thinking about the strange Servant he summoned.

While he was expecting the noble King of Knights who went by the old laws of chivalry, a counter to his style of eliminating opponents in the shadows, he was still unnerved at how the grail produced this person. He was impressed to see that somehow Saber was used to accepting a quest, perhaps he had been used to taking orders instead of ordering others.

No matter where he looked, he couldn't figure out what the person was. He had an annoying fairy familiar of his own called Navi, who seemed to be the main talker out of the both of them. However, he was amazed to find his stats were incredibly high, and even had a possibility to activate an Anti-Planet Noble Phantasm, though it would require a Command Seal since he would refuse outright to use it, even on an arch-enemy.

The amount of prana needed for that would also drain Kiritsugu for at least a day.

"So, it's only possible to theoretically use it once, though I seriously doubt that there would be enough enemies that require another attack with something of that power. Not that he would allow it again as well."

Maiya Hisau nodded at her mentor, "Yes, he seems a little too…" She paused to think about what to say, "Pure-hearted shall we say?"

Kiritsugu frowned again, recalling their last few hours in the Einzbern Forest, and how Illyasviel played with Navi and Saber smiling and patting his daughter, throwing a boomerang of all things to amuse her as she chased it around the trees.

"Regardless, it is only a contingency plan…"

He shuddered when he saw the item Saber produced which would cause the calamity, and sensing the churning wrongness from that face, he told Saber to hide it away, which he did so in his remarkable bag, which defied the laws of physics on how it could hold so many items.

"How should we proceed?" Maiya asked.

"First task is observation, we find out as much as we can about the Masters, their current locations and then strike them down one by one." He picked up a sniper rifle and proceeded to check the scope and barrel, "Irisviel and Saber will be battling the Servants together, luring out the Masters who watch them."

"Understood." His assistant nodded, "What about the familiars?"

"Leave them monitoring the homes of the Tohsaka and Matou households, just in case there is any activity there." He sat on the bed opposite the guns, "Now, we wait for the first round of battles."

**Later that evening  
><strong>**Tohsaka Manor**

The quiet of the night was boosted by the special boundary fields protecting the gardens of the home of one of the Three Families.

Assassin stood outside the fields, staring down the hedges and sensing the security measures from sheer instinct. Smirking, he leapt in and immediately ducked as a magical surveying stream whisked by his hood, then another suddenly following it, sensing a change in the wind patterns, which he allowed it to flow by his side.

Dodging to his left, Assassin proceeded slowly and somersaulted, slid and jumped forwards in order to disable the fields around the home by breaking the final crystal.

Thrusting out a dagger from within his belt, he managed to shatter the glowing red crystal, only for his arms to be shot up at the shoulders, elbows and wrists.

"Guh!" He stared up at the house and saw the tired eyes of a man standing on the rooftop.

"Did you really think you could get in here without me noticing this?"

Archer pointed his dual Berettas at Assassin, whose arms were now more or less useless.

"I cannot die, not like this!" Assassin readied his legs, only to feel his body grow colder, and the night already becoming more forbidding, even for a Heroic Spirit. Archer also looked around and moved his aim off Assassin.

"Is this your Noble Phantasm, you think a little cold is going to stop bullets?"

He pointed the guns at the Servant, only to falter at what stood behind him.

Assassin felt another chill, one which he associated with death, and blurred to the side as a gigantic blade just missed his fingertips.

The growling grew from the two meter tall man behind him, even as the hail of bullets began from Archer, only to bounce off the metal pyramid-like helmet, sparks indicating they weren't penetrating it.

"The boundary field is gone..." Assassin spoke out, "It allowed this one in..."

Assassin and Archer looked at each and nodded subtly, a temporary truce restored.

The familiars of three other Masters, and one other strange device, watched the battle with a growing sense of unease.

Uncaring of any of the protocols, Berserker simply lunged towards Assassin, who brought out a golden sphere the size of a bowling ball with markings on it, his arm healed back up to normal.

**"Apple of Eden." **

With those words uttered, he was shredded into pieces from the blade wielded by Berserker, and was replaced with five other Assassins surrounding the new Servant, each holding the same ball, before hiding them away.

Berserker didn't care, and started to swing the blade into the clones, slashing into two of them, splitting them in half, only for them to vanish with smirks.

A sword and three daggers were thrown into the unprotected back of Berserker, and several more bullets from the closing Archer impacted into his chest.

"▀██▓██▄▄▬▬▬!"

His roar was enough to make the house tremble. Much to the dismay of the two sane Servants, the injuries inflicted on Berserker made no difference to his movements, as the entry wounds and stabs healed slowly.

Most disturbingly of all, the wounds didn't bleed.

"Fine, to hell with this..." Archer spat, and threw his Berettas to the ground, and pulled out two Ingrams, and proceeded to pump bullets into Berserker, the fully automatic small machine guns sent a flood of bullets into the creature.

As he distracted the monster, Assassin went around to his back and lunged in, stabbing him through the nape with a hidden blade. The tip of the knife appeared on the other side of the neck, but again resulted in no reaction.

Twisting his body rapidly, Berserker slammed the flat of his heavy sword into Assassin. Feeling his ribcage crack, Assassin was propelled backwards, and slammed against the walls of the Tohsaka Manor.

"Shit!" Archer moved in further and dispensing of the Ingrams and pulled out a sawn-off shotgun.

He ran in towards Berserker and muttered to himself when the giant blade neared his neck.

**"Bullet Time."**

Milliseconds turned into seconds, seconds turned into minutes.

Archer smirked when he simply angled his head to avoid the blade, then whilst leaning backwards he fired the shotgun twice. Uncaring if Berserker felt that, he swept under another horizontal slash and reloaded the gun. He did this whilst spinning around in a crouched pose, his jacket flaring behind him with a flourish as the new ammo flew out of his inner pocket. He opened the back of the gun and refilled it even while the spent shells were still centimetres away from where they were ejected from.

Slamming it into Berserker's chest, the barrels placed against his heart, he fired both shots within seconds.

"▄▬▓██▓████▀!"

"Heh... So you can feel pain." Archer chuckled as he leapt backwards avoiding another blade strike, Berserker's cry of agony distinctive from his previous yell of anger.

Only to avoid a thrown knife which he parried with the butt of his shotgun.

"You think you're going to win, Assassin?" He asked out loud to the shadow behind him without turning away from Berserker, "Run while you can, I will kill you and your treacherous Master soon enough."

Spitting out blood, the white clothed Servant backed away and then vanished into the darkness.

At this time, the hedges and plants in the garden started to die and the tiles cracked up for no apparent reason.

Archer noticed this and saw that they were dying of overexposure to age, the plants withering at an accelerated rate as if they were parched of water, the tiles weathering away as though exposed to the elements for years.

All of this seemed to come from Berserker, which was the centre of the ruin.

The hole in his chest from the powerful buckshot was healing fast, but apparently he was unable to move his legs as yet, though his arms were still mobile, flailing to prevent Archer's bullets from striking him.

Archer made a decision, and a very drastic one. Running into the Manor, he went to his Master.

"We have to get out of here, now."

Tokiomi raised his eyebrows, "I saw what happened. Is Berserker that much of an opponent?"

"Yes, but I have a way to defeat him, though I can't use it here, we need more space for that attack." He watched outside the window as the majority of the garden now succumbed to the strange emission of Berserker, "In the meantime, while Assassin may not appear to be dead any more, the Familiars around the house can tell now that we are enemies outwardly with Kirei." He bit his lower lip, "Your home has no boundary field any more, and Berserker is going to be heading inside in less than a minute. The last thing we need is your own home destroyed, let alone another Master taking advantage of this."

Tokiomi mulled this over and nodded, "Agreed. I have a backup with the same boundary fields elsewhere in Fuyuki, which we can use for now. We can return in the morning here to restore the fields here to maximum."

Picking up his cane with the crystal in it, Archer pointed the shotgun at the window behind him and blasted the glass away, carrying his Master outside and leaping the nearby buildings to the destination in his mind.

When they were above the building, leaping from one to another, and when he was sure they weren't being followed or listened to, Archer smiled, "You know, in reality I couldn't really do things like this kind of high jumping. Perhaps my legend made me seem superhuman in some way."

Whilst being carried over the buildings with Archer's arm looped beneath his shoulder and around his back, Tokiomi spoke up.

"You are a Heroic Spirit, Max." He answered, "A person whose deeds have inspired people and helped the course of human history in some form. With time, even the most mundane of people have been revered as great men, making their feats much more larger than life." He realised that he may have sounded condescending and went on, "Your marksmanship was excellent, and you were not injured once during that battle, even when you went in close quarters, which is more than can be said for Assassin whose class is specialised in that."

"Thanks, Master." Archer replied, then turned serious, "I wasn't actually expecting Assassin to continue the attack at the end, which was surprising." He angled his head to his side to glance at Tokiomi, "I'm an expert at noticing things about people, given my past." He carefully picked his words, "Beware of Kirei."

This mildly shocked the Tohsaka head, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, he is not to be trusted." Archer grit his teeth, "His eyes are dead, without passion. We've spent a lot of time together as a group and individually in order to make this plan work, and I didn't like what I saw. I've met people like him, those who 'feel' nothing their whole lives. Since they themselves experience no joy, they are envious of those who possess it." Archer slowed down as the neared the hideout, "People like that will only find enjoyment through creating misery in others. The last attack by Assassin was actually meant to kill, and wasn't simply for the purpose of acting. Kirei most likely told him to do so."

"I see... Schadenfreude..." Tokiomi pondered this over, "He hasn't shown any outward actions towards me however."

They landed near the small house in the bounded field, preventing others from viewing their location.

"It's only a matter of time, Master. I'll be with you as much as I can. If you're alone with him, just, be careful."

Understanding the seriousness of his words, Tokiomi nodded, "I will, thank you Archer..."

Back at the Manor, during their escape, they failed to notice a grey haired man in an alleyway struggling to stand up as he watched them leave with his one working eye.

Kariya smiled, "Good, you're on the run..." He held his head, not wanting to feel the fury from Berserker again. "Berserker, well done... We'll leave it here for today. You can fight again tomorrow."

The churning of the crest worms were in time to Berserker's grinding voice.

**That moment  
><strong>**Mion River**

"No…"

Waver held his head as he relinquished control of the mouse familiar, and shuffled about on the grass at the bank of the river.

"That thing… It's not human…" He felt his hair stand on end and proceeded to grab it to rip it out, "It's going to kill us all…"

"Whatever manner of beast you saw, nothing is invincible." Rider spoke calmly, "Even the greatest of things can be tamed if you are strong enough."

Waver turned to face his Servant, "You don't get it, do you?! It's not that he was strong, but he was hideous, his insane and huge helmet..."

Rider took off his own helmet, for the first time since he was summoned, and placed it on Waver's head, where it wobbled a little due to the size difference. The boy grabbed it to keep it from toppling off, though he kept it on.

"How does it feel? You should be able to carry more things on your person, and punch stronger too."

Waver took Rider's words as they were; he didn't exactly to want to test out his punches on his Servant, nor on any other object near him.

He took a first good look at his face, now clear from the metal, and saw that it was ruggedly attractive for someone in the Western world, with a slight scar on the forehead. His long brown hair wasn't in any particular style, and gave the impression he didn't really care much for appearances like other heroes.

Rider spoke, "Now, you look like a warrior to me, with nothing to fear but that of your own."

Waver looked downwards, casting his eyes away from Rider, the helmet falling forwards a bit, "I... I don't understand."

Rider smirked, "Anyone can look frightening with a helmet, yet they are just a person beneath that mask." He looked off to the mouth of the river, "Whatever Servant you saw is undoubtedly the same."

"You didn't see how strong he was, Rider, he just shrugged off blades and bullets, like they were nothing, and he could just carry on fighting."

"So, Battle Continuation…" He murmured to himself, "A troublesome foe, though not immortal." His smile lit up his face, "Worry not, we shall eliminate him, and no harm will come to you, Waver."

"I suppose so..." His head began to heat up, though he realised it was the effect of Rider's helmet as well, keeping his temperature at a safe level. "What should we do now?"

"Now, we rest and eat, the real battles will begin tomorrow, my bones tell me this for certain."

He saw that Rider pulled out some logs and then proceeded to make a small campfire, and managed to brew a meal within moments.

"How did you do that? I can understand having the necessary pot and cutlery in the space where Servants can access, but to create a full meal by just adding some ingredients and have it finish in five seconds?"

Rider smirked, "Wait until you see my skills at smithing new weapons or armour." Handing him a bowl of the steaming broth, with a wooden spoon, he nodded, "Enjoy, it is a beef stew from my homeland."

Tentatively scooping some of it on his spoon, Waver put it in his mouth and smiled, before swallowing the morsel, savouring the flavour on his tongue.

"This is amazing!" He said after finishing his portion, "To think you can create meals this good with only minor preparation! I could run for miles with this kind of food."

"I'm not surprised, that is specifically for improving your stamina so you should be feeling ready for some action soon."

Waver nodded, "I could get used to meals like this." He passed his to Rider, "More please!"

The Servant obliged, taking his bowl and refilling it once more.

**Meanwhile  
><strong>**Fuyuki Church**

"So, we have failed in our attempt to spy on the other Masters." Risei shook his head as he stood with his son, whilst speaking into a gramophone.

"Yes… Tokiomi's voice came from the large speaker when he responded, "The unexpected side-effect of the collapse of the barrier, whilst helping the familiars of the other Masters get a good view in to see the expected death of Assassin, resulted in another Master and Servant taking advantage of it."

Assassin materialised into view, "That was a strong Servant, was it Berserker?"

Risei nodded, "Yes, his Master is Kariya Matou, I received notification from the Matou household of his registration into the war."

"Matou…" The Tohsaka head muttered that name out loud, "Of course, they would know when to strike when we were at our weakest."

The elderly priest glanced at his son, "I'm not sure if we have convinced the Masters yet that you and Kirei are rivals yet, but at least there is a discord detected. We will need to alter our plans in order to obtain the Grail."

"Correct, at the very least, we should not be seen together as allies." Tokiomi agreed, "Instead, Kirei can work on his own to eliminate other Masters or Servants."

Risei looked at Assassin, who bowed in return, "While I am not able to put up much of a fight against a normal Servant, a Master or two should be of no problem to me."

Kirei looked down, "Is it really necessary to kill the Masters?"

His father thought about it before speaking, "Technically no, however while alive they provide a link for their Servant's existence. Additionally, even if their own Servant was killed, they can form a contract with another Servant if one had recently lost their Master."

The young priest closed his eyes. "So, we are removing all possibilities of further resistance."

Tokiomi spoke again from the gramophone, "During the rush of retiring to my backup residence, we didn't notice, were the other Masters watching?"

Assassin spoke up, "One of my clones hiding away in the trees noticed four Familiars, two animals, one bat with a camera, and something else…"

"Explain what you mean by that, Assassin?" Kirei asked, not hearing of this development.

Assassin looked perturbed, "As you know, I'm provided the knowledge from the Grail of all the technology in the world currently. However, from that information, nothing in this world can match up with the device I saw in the air."

"Go on…" Tokiomi said.

"It had four metallic wings, and was small but sleek, and appeared to have a red light on the front of it. It was quite stealthy too, but not enough for it to evade my vision. Definitely mechanical and technological based construction."

The silence grew in the room until another voice chimed from the gramophone, "If there is something that cannot be explained, then all that remains is the impossible."

Risei raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean, Archer?"

"If there is something not of this time watching the battle, then it cannot belong to a Master since even Mages do not have access to futuristic technology. It would have to be someone involved with the war, since there is no reason for anyone to be monitoring the house at this time." Archer paused for a second, "It could only belong to a Servant."

Kirei spoke out, "How can that be? I mean… From the future?"

Risei grumbled, "The Holy Grail gathers heroes to fight, naturally we can only assume it selects them from antiquity. Who is to say that it doesn't find notable heroes from the future?"

"I'd hardly consider myself vintage, Father..." Archer wryly chuckled from the speaker.

"Indeed, this leads to the only possibility of a Servant from the far future." Risei finished the thought, "We have received notifications from six Masters, and only one remains unaccounted for. It must belong to his Servant."

"This is troubling." Tokiomi continued, "Why would a Master allow his Servant to conduct the search, instead of using one of his own familiars?"

Kirei nodded to himself, "The Master cannot be a skilled Mage, or may not even have any talent to that effect."

Risei scratched his chin, "Yes, in the previous wars, there has always been one Master who, whilst possessing few Magic Circuits or just plain lack of ability or training, managed to summon a Servant." He placed a hand on his son's shoulder, "We may just be dealing with one of these abnormal Masters. Since we are aware that Caster was the most recent summoning, it could be his doing, and since only six Masters have registered with me, perhaps it was the doing of the Servant of this new Master."

"We will need to be wary for this." Tokiomi noted, "Archer is already keeping watch just in case there is any other Surveyor watching us. Since a Servant is taking actions into their own hands, I recommend the Church be carefully monitored as well."

Assassin bowed, "I will keep eyes posted here at all times."

Kirei thought about the shared connection with Assassin during the battle and the shrewd face that Archer had when deflecting the blades from his own Servant in the last assault.

Frowning at the gramophone speaker and slowly placing a fist over his heart, he pondered over the odd feelings which stirred up within him.

**The next day  
><strong>**Fuyuki City**

A pale, white haired woman laughed whilst next to her companion, who smiled in return.

"Oh Saber, that's just too funny to keep a secret. I should tell Kiritsugu about it later!" She went to a window of a dress shop and pulled the boy's arm to show him.

To prevent many eyes staring at the oddly clothed Servant, Kiritsugu found a black suit which was tailored for his use. In order to hide his ears, they had to resort to a black beanie, though Saber took it upon himself to stitch a symbol on the front of it, which his Master noted was exactly the same as his Command Seals.

"I haven't had this much fun for years." She spoke quietly as they moved on from the shop, "Grandfather never let me out of the home since I was birthed."

Saber's lips thinned after hearing about the creation of his temporary charge, and may have eavesdropped a little bit about her treatment through his keen hearing.

"It is nice to be outside, with such a proud bodyguard to accompany me."

Her smile was infectious however, and Saber had to return it with a smile of his own, before indicating a small café nearby.

Skipping there, Irisviel dragged Saber with her inside and insisted on a coffee, Saber just pointed at the orange juice on the menu to the waitress, who blushed at his handsome features.

"Still, it's hard to imagine what we saw last night..." Irisviel reminded herself about Berserker out loud, without giving any details away in case they were overheard, "He scares me... I've never felt such hatred, malice and sadness in my life."

Saber reached out and held her hand, squeezing it softly, her face reddened from the contact as she turned her eyes upwards to meet his blue eyes.

Those eyebrows were tense, and his eyes were burning in a way she found it hard to describe. Whatever it was, it was enough for her to feel warm and safe.

The waitress returned with the drinks, forcing them to separate quickly. Passing them their respective drinks, she smiled and bowed politely at them.

"Enjoy your visit." The waitress said to the foreigners.

Irisviel turned away and looked out the windows, the blush spreading as she reached out for her coffee.

"This is nice..." She whispered over her drink, "A good blend."

Saber listened as he took a swig of his juice.

His temporary Master glanced at him, "I am looking forward to our time together, even though this may be the only respite we get before everything begins." Her red irises darkened slightly as she lowered her eyelids, "If only this world could remain at peace." She brightened considerably, "That is why we will win this War, for Kiritsugu to get his wish."

Saber's face tightened as he bowed his head in agreement, only to widen his eyes and snapped his head to one side.

Irisviel sighed, "Yes, it looks like we are being taunted; a battle-ready Servant is emitting prana to entice us." She shrugged, "Let us finish our drinks first; it would be rude to the establishment to leave them half full."

A few minutes went by before they managed to empty their respective cups and left the café, Irisviel leaving a generous tip for the waitress.

Walking to the port region as the sun set over the horizon, they felt the presence of the unknown Servant rise and fall, as if to signal it was waiting.

Irisviel stopped moving as Saber took a position in front of her. They were now in an industrial part of the port, where the cargo containers were left and emptied in order to be filled for their next journey.

The winds quietened down as a figure materialised in front of them. Saber cocked his head to one side, never having seen something as odd and metallic as the thing in front of him. Its six green portholes where presumably it could see from were staring at him.

It was moving its head up and down, spreading its one meaty glove to the side, then pointed at Saber, and finally to the ground. Its moans were trying to say something, but it wasn't exactly easy for them to understand, though his motions were.

"He is challenging us to a fair fight, so he must be one of the Knight classes. Most likely a Lancer since he doesn't seem to have anything like a bow." She turned to Saber, "We should oblige him. I will help keep you healed Saber, don't worry about me and fight him."

Nodding, Saber moved a little further away towards Lancer and felt for his own prana. The yellow light around him grew as the Servant conjured up his customary green armour, his black suit now consigned as a backup to change back when needed. His beanie flew backwards to be caught by Irisviel as his long hat appeared. The sword and shield appeared in the left and right hands respectively, still glowing with that light.

Feeling the connection to his real Master increase slightly, Saber knew that Kiritsugu was nearby watching them and planning his tactics already.

Holding his sword straight towards Lancer, he then held it vertically in front of himself, a form of salute, before swinging his sword to one side, shield held steady for any attack.

"Goooood." Lancer groaned out, as the green lights turned to yellow as the sound of pistons grew from his back.

Two seconds later, Saber's shield was sparking wildly as the drill pressed against it due to a sudden lunge from Lancer, his six ocular implants now blazing red.

Gritting his teeth, Saber pushed back, only for another lunge powered by steam to drag him to the side. Using his free hand, he thrust the sword at his enemy, only for the hand to simply grab his wrist, slowly crushing it.

The swordsman felt his hand get crushed slowly. "Aaaagh!"

"Saber!" Irisviel was surprised at the massive strength shown by Lancer, and his speed despite his ungainly form.

Remarkably there was still no breakage in his shield, nor was it for lack of trying, and somehow Saber was preventing it from deflecting off into his chest. His kicks were a little too puny when trying to strike the kneecap of his foe, the rubberised suit barely noticing an impact.

An unearthly voice echoed around them.

_"So, you need my help after all, right?"_

Saber widened his eyes and shook his head rapidly, struggling even more, as Lancer grumbled in confusion without stopping his assault.

"Who said that?!" Irisviel shouted out, only to notice that, even though the voice wasn't in any language she'd ever heard of, the words came to her clearly.

_"Silly girl, let me help out your cute little Servant..."_

A flash of orange brilliance came from Saber, then a large fist came from nowhere and suddenly Lancer found himself flung away into the far container opposite, embedded up to his waist.

From the shadows of Saber, a diminutive dark grey and white form with a large strange mask covering one eye, and blue runes of sorts on her arms. Her green ears extended outwards and her flaming orange hair moved behind her.

The creature grinned at Saber, her fang poking over her lower lip, _"Good to see you again. Ready to beat down this fool?"_

Saber breathed hard and nodded as Irisviel healed him. As the floating imp moved to the side to flank Lancer, Saber slashed outwards with his blade. Despite being far from Lancer, the blade sent out large magical sparks which homed in the on Servant, striking him.

A loud roar came from Lancer, who started for Saber, only to avoid a slamming palm from the masked girl. Saber leapt in as his chance came.

Lancer pressed his drill into the ground, and the gases from the canisters on his back let out steam and noxious fumes, and when combined with the vibrations in the ground, served to dizzy the other Servant and his familiar.

The imp flew to Saber and grabbed him even though Lancer managed to jump up and send the drill into her arm.

Crashing into the concrete paving slabs, Saber and his new familiar breathed hard.

_"Ouch..." _She held the stump of her arm, _"I can only help you for a little longer before I need to regenerate in your shadow, okay?" _She grabbed the end of her arm with her left hand and squeezed it hard, preventing more blood loss.

Both of them stood up and watched as Lancer turned to face them.

"Enough playing around Lancer, you almost killed Saber." An artificially loud voice echoed over the docks, "Remember your Noble Phantasm. Use it in this battle."

Lancer roared and steam built up on his back, leaving him in a hot fog.

"_He looks mad..." _

Saber nodded and prepared himself.

From the fog, Lancer lunged, faster than ever, the drill spinning like a thousand bees burrowing into their eardrums.

Saber and his familiar were about to counter-attack, only for the floating girl to be stabbed through the chest with a long needle. At the same time, Saber was engulfed in flame.

What they saw now was a lithe armoured figure, a spherical helmet with only one red porthole, staring at the thing impaled by the long syringe attached to her left arm. Her right hand was aflame and pointed at Saber for another shot, only to be scattered by his shield. She was covered in the same fog as before.

_"Think a little pin can scare me?"_ Her hair whipped out and grabbed Lancer, and pulled her away from the thin spear.

The roar of Lancer was higher pitched now, and it vanished in a purple haze.

_"What the...?" _The imp looked about and frowned, _"Lancer is a girl now... With more power?"_

Saber meanwhile had finished patting down the flames and saw Lancer rematerialise across from them, her right hand sparking like a match.

The familiar moved to Saber's back, _"Sorry, I need to rest now, she drained me of my power. See you later..."_

Nodding and touching her hand, the girl blushed and melted into Saber's shadow.

Irisviel was only watching in wonder, having seen the speeds at which they moved and the powers wielded.

"Amazing... Saber..."

She was so enamoured by the display that she failed to sense a presence come up behind her, which wasn't so surprising given that this was his speciality.

His words we quiet and dignified as he whispered them into her ear.

"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine."

Before the Einzbern lady could turn around, she felt a blade enter her back and pierce her heart, then being withdrawn quickly.

Coughing slightly, she felt her life fluid leaking from her back near her spine, and then leaking from her mouth from another cough as some got into her throat from the cutting action.

This attracted the attention of Saber, who spotted Assassin dissipate into thin air, and watched as his pale ward fell to her knees and began to tilt and topple to her side.

As her vision became blurry, Irisviel could only see Saber holster his sword as he leapt for her with his arm outstretched and mouth open, no doubt shouting her name, though her hearing had since failed.

She felt the dull impact and the world went black.

**Author's Notes**

A neat deviation from canon now, since I'm sure everyone is bored of the usual 'pretend Assassin died and then have Saber and Lancer fight each other to a standstill without any real casualties'. The war will be heating up in the next chapter.

For now, let us check out the detailed stats of one of the Servants, namely Archer:

**Class – Archer**

Master – Tokiomi Tohsaka  
>True Name – Max Payne<br>Game Series – Max Payne  
>Alignment – Neutral Good<p>

Theme Song – Pain, Track 23, Max Payne 3 OST (this is the theme which I believe captures Max's pain in the series)  
>Battle Theme – Tears, Track 24, Max Payne 3 OST<p>

Base Skills

Strength – C  
>Endurance – A<br>Agility – B - A+  
>Magical Energy – E<br>Luck – A-

Class Skills

Independent Action – B: Capable of remaining in this world for two days without an established contract. Also capable of living on for a short period of time after suffering extensive damage on his spiritual core.  
>Magic Resistance – D: Cancel Single-Action spells. Magic Resistance of the same degree of an amulet that rejects magical energy.<p>

**Personal Skills**

Battle Continuation – A: Makes possible to fight even with deadly injuries and can remain alive so long as one does not receive a decisive fatal wound.  
><span>Eye of the Mind (True) – B<span>: Capable of calm analysis of battle conditions even when in danger and deduce an appropriate course of action after considering all possibilities to escape from a predicament. So long there is even a 1% chance of a comeback, this ability greatly improves the chances of winning.  
><span>Instinct – B<span>: Near sixth sense to feel the best course of action during battles. Lowered by one rank due to prolonged effects of alcohol and substance abuse.  
><span>Nature of a Rebellious Spirit – B<span>: The temperament to never remain at one location and never embrace a lord. A wandering star that does not have the capacity to be king nor is capable of finding his own king. Rank is higher due to misplaced guilt from his past deeds and sins.  
><span>Salve of Man – B<span>: Receives a massive boost to his self-healing capabilities using surgical knowhow and medicine from the modern era. Cannot cure decisive fatal injuries. Lowered by one rank due to continued use of such drugs, thus dampening the effect.

**Noble Phantasms**

**Arsenal of Memories – Gun Retrieval**

A hidden ability, and constantly active. Archer is able to bring out any gun he has handled in his life at least once and wield them accordingly. Their firepower has been boosted significantly by prana to damage Servants. Ammunition is still restricted by the size of the magazine, and he has instant access to at least two further magazines from this storage. When depleted, he will need to replace the gun with another weapon. If dropped, the gun will vanish within moments. It takes at least 30 seconds for depleted ammunition to artificially fill itself before he can use the same weapon again. Also has the advantage of removing other unrelated items for personal use, such as drinking glasses, though no consumables can be held within.

Rank: B  
>Type: Anti-Unit (Self) Noble Phantasm<br>Range: -  
>Maximum Target: 1 person<p>

**Bullet Time – Temporal Shifting**

This power temporarily increases his agility from B to A+. Whilst outwardly similar to other localisations of time that other Mages perform, created mainly by increasing their metabolic rate and heart and muscle movements, this does not affect the user's health in any form. This is due to the fact that Archer does not increase his speed in any way. From his personal experience, Archer had obtained, thanks to his luck, the ability to tap and absorb another dimension whereby all movement beyond his being is reduced to a tiny fraction, thus allowing him to even see the trails of bullets in the air, hence the name. The strict time limit is not due to any physical strain, since the dimension closes neatly, but a simple application of the 'World' forcing back the dimension to its departure point without damaging the user. Archer can remain in this state for ten seconds, though it requires at least ten seconds to be activated again.

Rank: EX  
>Type: Anti-Unit (Self) Noble Phantasm<br>Range: -  
>Maximum Target: 1 person<p>

**Unknown Noble Phantasm – ?.?.?**

?.?.?.?

Rank: A  
>Type: Anti-Mind Noble Phantasm<br>Range: 1-60  
>Maximum Target: 10 people<p> 


End file.
